Chachoengsao, Thailand, November 9: Indian stalwart S.S.P. Chawrasia made his return to the Thai Country Club after 12 years a memorable one by grabbing a share of the lead with Australia’s Andrew Martin following the penultimate round of the Thailand Open on Saturday.

The playing partners, who started the day trailing by one, posted matching three-under-par 68s to seize a one-shot advantage over local amateur Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul with their three-day total of 10-under-par 203s at the Thai Country Club.

Despite slipping out of the lead for the first time this week, Natthaphat held his head high after registering a second straight 70 as he stays on track to become the first amateur winner on the Asian Tour since 2009 at the US$300,000 event.

The 41-year-old Chawrasia, playing in only his fifth start on Tour this season, is chasing for his seventh victory while Martin, 35, is eyeing a breakthrough on the region’s premier Tour. The last foreigner to win the Kingdom’s National Open is Korea’s K.T. Kim in 2015.

Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai and American John Catlin carded identical 69s to settle three shots off the pace in fourth place with young Thai Suradit Yongcharoenchai (70), who secured his maiden Asian Tour win in Chinese Taipei last month.

The Thailand Open marks the start of the Asian Tour’s 2019/20 Panasonic Swing, which is a ranking based on an aggregate point race that spans five events with the final top-three players chasing a share of a lucrative bonus pool.

Did you know?

• Andrew Martin is playing in his fifth start on Tour this season. His best result is a tied-20th place finish at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth in February.
• The 35-year-old Australian came through the 2018 Qualifying School but failed to retain his card after finishing in 63rd place on the Order of Merit. He missed the cut-off mark by two rungs.
• Martin’s wife is on his bag this week. Martin needed only 26 putts in his round of 68 today. He is ranked third in the Greens in Regulations category with an average of 1.59 putts per GIR. He has also found 78.58% of fairways this week to sit in tied-eight position in that stats category.
• Prior to his Qualifying School attempt, Martin has enjoyed a tied-eighth place finish at the 2017 Indonesia Open for his first top-10 result on the Asian Tour. He claimed two other top-10 results in China and Fiji last year.
• Martin finished tied-seventh in his last event, the Victorian PGA Championship two weeks ago on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.
• He also had a sixth-place finish at the Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship in August on the same tour.
• Martin enjoyed his best-career season in 2012 where he notched two tied-second finishes in his home country.
• S.S.P. Chawrasia is a six-time Asian Tour winner. He is playing in his fifth start on Tour this season. It is also the first time in 12 years that Chawrasia is playing at the Thai Country Club.
• The 41-year-old Indian, who sits in 64th place on the current Order of Merit, needs a good showing this week to try and break into top-60 at the end of the season to keep his card for 2020. It’s the final year of exemption for Chawrasia since he won twice on Tour in 2016 and another title in 2017.
• Chawrasia turned professional in 1997. He picked up the game at the age of 10. The self-taught golfer is nicknamed ‘Chipputtsia’ because of his superb short game.
• He had successfully defended his title at the 2017 Hero Indian Open for his sixth Asian Tour victory. He is only the third player in the tournament’s history to win back-to-back titles.
• Chawrasia has been plying his trade mainly on the European Tour for the past few years.
• Chawrasia has hit 75.92% of Greens in regulation this week and is ranked tied-fifth in that stats category. He found 80.95% of fairways to sit in tied-sixth place in that category.
• Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul is a member of the Thai Golf Association. The 19-year-old is playing in his first Asian Tour event and his first Thailand Open this week.
• He used to be a member of the Thailand Junior Golf Federation where he had won several Class A events before graduating two years ago. Natthaphat picked up the game when he was nine years old.
• Natthaphat, who hails from Bangkok, was the last man in for the 2019 Thailand Open. He only received his entry confirmation from the Thai Golf Association on Sunday night.
• A win for Natthaphat tomorrow would see him become the first amateur to win a full-field Asian Tour event since Chinnarat Phadungsil won the Double A International Open in 2005, and the first in any event since Danny Lee won the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic.
• Natthaphat used to watch Prom Meesawat play from outside the ropes when he was young. Today, they were paired in the same group for the first time ever.
• Natthaphat’s childhood swing teacher is on his bag for him this week. His father and his current coach also came out to watch him play today.
• Natthaphat is tied for lead in the Greens in regulation category this week with an average of 77.78%.

Chachoengsao, Thailand, November 9: Read what players have to say following the penultimate round of the Thailand Open on Saturday.

S.S.P. Chawrasia (Ind) – Third round 68 (-3), Total 203 (-10)

It’s been 12 long years since I last played here at the Thai Country Club. The course still feels similar to back then except that the trees have grown much taller. It was nice to be back here and be in a share of the lead heading into the final round.

I played good today. It was nice to shoot three birdies in the last five holes. I’m happy with it. I missed a couple of putts on the front nine but it got better on the back. I have been playing pretty consistently for the past three rounds.

The course is playing the same today. It’s still windy. But I am happy to put myself in a share of the lead now. I am looking forward to tomorrow. I’ll try my best and let’s see. It’s nice to back playing in Asia. It always feels like home and I am more comfortable.

This is my last year of winner’s exemption on the Asian Tour so a good result tomorrow will help a lot.

Andrew Martin (Aus) – Third round 68 (-3), Total 203 (-10)

It was a bit of a battle out there. I like to hit little cuts, and today I just seemed to have a few holes where it was on the left side and I had to try to do the opposite to what I like to see. I had a lot of into the grain shots on the fairways which make it hard to control. But on 18, everything was perfect for me. So overall, it was alright, just had to think a bit more over some shots out there.

It was a little bit of breeze, I have struggled to get the ones that are into, well I think they are out of the left but they are swinging back into, so then I just don’t trust it. Today wasn’t as good as the first two days but I still managed to shoot a good score.

The course kind of suits my game. I’m not a long hitter but I think you just got to be on the fairway because that rough can be quite brutal. Trying to judge it, and then with the wind, like you get one out of the rough downwind, it can go for miles.

The greens are perfect. You just got to give yourself opportunities out there. Putting is probably one of my strengths, so just give myself opportunities and hopefully hole some putts. I have been playing a lot lately and I think they help my game which has been trending the right way.

The first tee shot will be key for me tomorrow. I would love to be an Asian Tour winner. Especially in Thailand, I love coming back here. I love playing here at the Thai Country Club too. It was my first time here last year and I was excited to be back this year.

Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul (a) (Tha) – Third round 70 (-1), Total 204 (-9)

I think I coped with my nerves better today. I was just sticking to my routines and I told myself not to think too much. I felt less stressful compared to the last two days.

It was nice playing with Prom Meesawat today. I used to watch him play when I was younger and I would just follow him outside the ropes. It was nice to play with him for the first time today.

He was really friendly. He praised me and encouraged me when I hit a good shot out there. I had lots of fun. My father and my coach came to watch me play today. I think my mum will come tomorrow. They gave me a lot of motivation out there.

I am very pleased with the way I have played so far. I hope it stays the same tomorrow and I can put up a good result. It was windy out there again today but the turning point for me came on the 12th where I chipped it in for birdie from about 15 yards.

Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha) – Third round 69 (-2), Total 206 (-7)

I worked very hard today. It was a very tough day. I only hit like four fairways with my driver. I didn’t putt well today but my chipping was good. I had a good comeback on the back nine too. I didn’t give myself birdie chances on the first nine holes but I played better on the back.

Whether you play well on this course or not really depends on the wind. If the wind continues to blow like this tomorrow, I will be happy if I can shoot an even-par round. It will be difficult if you’re not hitting good off the tees.

John Catlin (USA) – Third round 69 (-2), Total 206 (-7)

It was challenging out there. The wind was a lot stronger than it was last two days. The wind was up in the afternoon on Thursday, and then it was blowing Friday morning as well so all three rounds I played in the wind and I kind of got a little more comfortable with it.

I was just hitting a lot of good shots today. If I could get a little hotter, I could probably be on top of the leaderboard but we’ll see what happens. I love playing on the Asian tour. I am happy to be playing in the Thailand open too. I’ve lived here for three years and this place feels like home to me now.

Chachoengsao, Thailand, November 8: Thailand’s Poom Pattaropong rode a hot putter to sign for a six-under-par 65 and grab a share of the lead with local amateur Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul at the halfway stage of the Thailand Open on Friday.

The 24-year-old Poom, who came through the Asian Tour Qualifying School last December, nailed eight birdies against two bogeys to equal the two-day efforts of overnight leader Natthaphat (70) on eight-under-par 134 total at the Thai Country Club.

The leading duo holds a one-shot advantage over home favourite Prom Meesawat (67), Australia’s Andrew Martin (68), India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu (67) and S.S.P. Chawrasia (67) at the US$300,000 full-field Asian Tour event.

Newly crowned Asian Tour champion Suradit Yongcharoenchai of Thailand continued his fine form by carding a 68 to move within two shots off the lead. He sits in seventh place alongside countryman Charng-Tai Sudsom (68) and Chinese Taipei’s Wang Wei-hsuan (69) on 135.

India’s Shiv Kapur, who opened his campaign with a 74, took a great leap forward after creating a new course record on the par-71 set-up with his blistering round of 63.

The 37-year-old Kapur settled three shots off the pace in tied-10^th position with a host of players which include American John Catlin (70) and Phachara Khongwatmai (72) of Thailand.

The halfway cut was set at one-over par 143 with 78 players, included four amateurs, progressing into the weekend rounds.

The Thailand Open marks the start of the Asian Tour’s 2019/20 Panasonic Swing, which is a ranking based on an aggregate point race that spans five events with the final top-three players chasing a share of a lucrative bonus pool.

Did you know?

• Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul is a member of the Thai Golf Association. The 19-year-old is playing in his first Asian Tour event and his first Thailand Open this week.
• He used to be a member of the Thailand Junior Golf Federation where he had won several Class A events before graduating two years ago.
• Natthaphat, who hails from Bangkok, was the last man in for the 2019 Thailand Open. He only received his entry confirmation from the Thai Golf Association on Sunday night.
• Natthaphat has hit 83.33% Greens in regulation through the first two rounds of the Thailand Open. He missed only one green in the opening round and found 13 greens in his second round, where he traded four birdies against three bogeys.
• Poom Pattaropong is playing in his second year as a professional golfer. He finished fifth at the Asian Tour Qualifying School last December to secure his playing rights for the 2019 season. It was his second attempt.
• Poom enjoyed a tied-15th place result at the Bangladesh Open in April. It remains his best result in six starts on the Asian Tour so far this season.
• Poom missed the mark in his first attempt at the Qualifying School in 2018 but went on to ply his trade on the ADT where he capped four top-five finishes within a span of two months from August to finish in 15th place on the Order of Merit.
• Poom graduated from the James Madison University in the United States in December 2017. 
• Poom is making his debut appearance in his National Open this week. He found 14 greens and needed only 26 putts in his round of 65 today.
• Sitting in 92nd place on the Order of Merit, Poom needs to put up a strong showing to have a chance to break into top-60 at the end of the season and keep his card for 2020.
• Prom Meesawat is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour. He first won in Korea in 2006 before claiming his second victory in Chinese Taipei in 2014.
• Prom’s 2019 season has been a mark of consistency so far. The Thai has claimed three top-10 results and missed only three cuts in 10 starts to sit in 20th place on the Order of Merit.
• Prom has scrambled well in the first two rounds of the Thailand Open this week. In the first round, he managed to get up-and-down for nine out of 10 times and in the second round, he was successful in getting up-and-down six out of seven times.
• Prom won his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title in Brunei in April. Prior to that, he also won the 20th Singha Thailand Masters on his domestic circuit.
• Prom got his season off to a great start when he secured a tied-fifth place finish at the season-opening Singapore Open in January. He earned a coveted spot at The Open in July, thanks for his solid finish. It was his second appearance at The Open.

Chachoengsao, Thailand, November 8: Read what players have to say following the second round of the Thailand Open on Friday.

Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul (a) (Tha) – Second round 70 (-1), Total 134 (-8)

I was feeling pretty nervous, playing with all the professionals out here. I was more nervous than I was yesterday. The conditions were tough today. It was windy out there. I got off to a bad start with a bogey on 10^th but luckily, I managed to bounce back with a birdie on 11^th.

The wind was so strong I couldn’t control my drives today. But my second shots were good. I started feeling good with my game heading into the back nine. I birdied the first, third and fifth holes, had a pretty good run there. Although I dropped a shot on the ninth, I am still happy to stay in the lead.

I told myself to slow down my pace and I talked a lot to my caddy out there too. Just try and stay relax and not think about the scores. I will just play my own game tomorrow and see how it goes. I just want to learn as much as I can and earn some good experiences this week.

Sadom Kaewkanjana is one of my favourite players. I am quite close to him. He gives me some advices sometimes.

Poom Pattaropong (Tha) – Second round 65 (-6), Total 134 (-8)

Everything just went my way today. I holed a lot of putts. I was sticking it close from the fairways so yeah, my approach shots were good.

I shot three under on the front nine and luckily, I was able to keep it going heading into the back. I was just hitting it close to keep the momentum going.

My longest putt today is the 25-footer on 17. I had another chip-in from about 10 yards too. The course is in perfect conditions but it was quite windy out there this morning.

I’m just going to stick to my game plan tomorrow and just try to have fun out there because I’ve never been in this position before.

The season’s not too bad for me. I made five cuts out of six tournaments so far after getting my card from Qualifying School. I’ll take it but I haven’t had a good finish yet. My best result was a tied-15th place finish in Bangladesh earlier.

Prom Meesawat (Tha) – Second round 67 (-4), Total 135 (-7)

It’s pretty tough out there today. Even though the greens are softer, it’s still challenging. I think I played alright. I got off to a good strong from the 10th. I had two good opening birdies. On the 10th, I holed the putt from almost 35 feet and on the 11th, I holed the putt again from off the green, about 25 feet.

I missed a short birdie putt on 12 but it’s alright. It’s golf, anything can happen. I was just trying to put the ball on the green. I have played this course many times and I think my knowledge of the course is advantage for me this week.

It’s more windy today. The greens were softer on the front nine today I thought. I played in the afternoon yesterday and thought it was firmer. Some of the pin positions were tricky today. If you miss your drive and place your ball on the wrong spots, it won’t be easy.

I will just go out and play tomorrow, try to enjoy and just stick to my game plan. I don’t want to put pressure on myself. This event is a special event to me. I think it’s also special to all the Thai players out here. I hope to follow my father’s footsteps and win this tournament, like how he did in 1991.

I am glad myself in a good position to do that now. That is always at the back of my mind but overall, I just want to enjoy myself out there an we’ll what happens.

Ajeetesh Sandhu (Ind) – Second round 67 (-4), Total 135 (-7)

I putted pretty well. It was windy out there so it was tough to get it close. But, yeah, I scored well. Thankfully, the wind was quite consistent through, so it wasn’t screwing with our minds too much. But yeah, it was still tough out there.

I have been playing well recently. Everything’s just kind of settled in. I’m happy with how I’m hitting it, short game is good. My caddy Suriya and I worked a lot on almost every aspect of my game and it’s nice when it kind of clicks together.

Shiv Kapur (Ind) – Second round 63 (-8), Total 137 (-5)

It’s been two different days for me it seems. I don’t think I played that poorly yesterday. I just couldn’t score because I couldn’t hole a putt. I was struggling a bit and I hit it into the rough a lot yesterday but it didn’t look as bad as my score of 74. I went back to reflect upon it.

I thought it was a bit better today, found something in my swing and just kind of stuck to my game plan really. The conditions were a lot harder today. It was quite breezy and the closing holes were playing quite tough into the wind. But you know when you’re playing well, things will always go your way.

Putting is always key anytime you shoot a low score like this. I started off hitting two or three really close so it was a good start. I holed a couple of good ones like the 20-footers on 13 and 15. The longest putt I holed today was on the third. It was about 30 feet. Those are three long ones and the others were pretty close from inside six feet.

It was a combination of hitting the ball well and making a few putts, which didn’t happen for me yesterday. I would probably rank this course one of my top-three favourites and that’s the reason why I came to play this week.

I have had a pretty poor season so far. It’s been very lackluster. I have been missing a lot of halfway cuts by a shot. I would have liked to take on from my 2017 season where I won three events. I want to build on that. But, you know, that’s golf, sometimes things don’t go your way but there’s a long way to go with a lot of big events coming up.

Playing at home next week too and the Hong Kong Open after which is another course I really like. We have got a strong stretch coming up so if I can finish the season well, it would give me some confidence going into next year.

Chachoengsao, Thailand, November 7: Young Thai amateur Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul stole the show by opening his campaign with a solid seven-under-par 64 to grab a one-shot lead at the US$300,000 Thailand Open on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Natthaphat, one of the 10 amateurs in the field this week, received a late confirmation into the event on Sunday night but would find himself at the top of the leaderboard after firing eight birdies against a bogey at the Thai Country Club.

Starting from the first, Natthaphat reeled in four straight pars before nailing seven birdies in his next 11 holes. He stumbled with a bogey on 16 but bounced back swiftly with another birdie on 17 before closing with a par to take the lead for the first time in a professional tournament.

Phachara Khongwatmai impressed in his first attempt at tackling the course as he returned with a bogey-free round highlighted by six birdies to take second place at his National Open, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Thailand Golf Association.

Asian Tour Qualifying School graduate Aadil Bedi of India also kept the blemishes off his card to card a commendable 66 in his debut appearance at the Thailand Open. The 18-year-old shares third place with Thaya Limpipolpaibul of Thailand and Soomin Lee of Korea.

Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat and American John Catlin, who hold a combined total of eight Asian Tour titles, were among those bunched in sixth place following matching rounds of 67s in the full-field event.

Defending champion Panuphol Pittayarat of Thailand had a round to forget after registering a 74 to sit in tied-110^th place at the Thailand Open, which returned to the Thai Country Club for its third straight edition on the Asian Tour this week.

The Thailand Open marks the start of the Asian Tour’s 2019/20 Panasonic Swing, which is a ranking based on an aggregate point race that spans five events with the final top-three players chasing a share of a lucrative bonus pool.

Did you know?

• Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul is a member of the Thai Golf Association. He is playing in his first Asian Tour event this week.
• He used to be a member of the Thailand Junior Golf Federation where he had won several Class A events before graduating two years ago.
• Natthaphat is one of the 10 local amateurs vying for honours in the Thailand Open this week. He is playing in his National Open for the first time.
• The 19-year-old Natthaphat found 10 fairways and missed only one green in his solid round of 64. He needed only 28 putts around the greens.
• Natthaphat, who hails from Bangkok, was the last man in for the 2019 Thailand Open. He only received his entry confirmation from the Thai Golf Association on Sunday night.
• Phachara Khongwatmai has claimed two top-10 finishes in Korea and Chinese Taipei to sit in 39th place on the Order of Merit. He is chasing for a breakthrough win on the Asian Tour this week.
• Phachara found 11 fairways and missed only five greens in his solid round of 65. He navigated his way around the greens in only 25 putts.
• Phachara won the European Tour’s GolfSixes Cascais 2019 alongside Thai star Thongchai Jaidee earlier in June.
• Phachara came into prominence when he won the 2015 PGM CCM Rahman Putra Championship to become the youngest Asian Development Tour (ADT) winner at the age of 15.
• The 20-year-old Phachara finished in a career-high third place on the Asian Tour Merit standings in 2017, thanks to four top-five finishes which include three runner-up results.
• Aadil Bedi turned professional last October. He is only 18 years old.
• Bedi came through the Qualifying School in his first attempt and secured his Asian Tour card for 2019.
• Bedi claimed his first top-five finish on the Asian Tour on his home soil earlier in September. Sitting in 111th position on the Order of Merit, Bedi needs a solid result this week to boost his ranking. He has to finish inside top-60 on the money list to retain his card for the 2020 season.
• Bedi picked up the game when he was just four years old.
• Throughout his 13-year amateur career, Bedi has won 171 Medals and trophies. He has also represented India in all the Elite and Major Amateur matches of the world including Asian games, British Amateur, the Australian Masters of Amateur, Singapore Amateur and Eisenhower Cup, Ireland.
• Bedi represented India as an amateur at the 2018 Asian Games. He led the field for the first three days but eventually missed out on a podium finish on the final day, finishing in 13th place.